The woodchop arena at this year’s North Coast National show at Lismore Showgrounds will be bigger and better than it’s been for decades. 

With a bigger area, a new fence and concrete footings for the trees to be placed in, the arena will also host this year’s woodchop state championship. 

This year's North Coast National will take place on October 17-19.

North Coast National Agricultural and Industrial Society secretary Mark Bailey said the arena upgrade was thanks to the sponsorship of the Hurford family. 

“The support of Hurford Hardwood by supplying materials for the arena upgrade has been instrumental in putting the event and the North Coast National back on the map.”

Even the heritage grandstand behind the arena has been given a facelift, with Lismore TAFE students building new stairs for it.

Woodchop steward James Livingstone said some of the top axemen in Australia will be coming for the state championship event, which is to be held in Lismore for the first time.

“Tree felling is a spectacular event,” Mr Livingstone said. “At last year’s show, we saw the most axemen attend since the old days and the axemen’s guild came along and decided to give the state championship to Lismore.” 

James said he and his father had been involved in woodchopping for decades and that he’d “won his fair share of woodchop events”.

“In the 1970s it wasn’t uncommon to have 100 axemen at the show.”

The woodchop event will take place on Friday, October 19 at the show.

Lexie Hurford, Andrew Hurford, Mark Bailey, North Coast National president John Gibson, James Livingstone and Garry Connolly at the woodchop arena at Lismore Showground.

Hurford’s owner Lexie Hurford said the Hurford family have been in the business of wood and wood products since 1932 and she was looking forward to seeing more school children come along to this year’s show to learn about forestry.

“We have an interactive forestry exhibition on display in the next pavilion,” Ms Hurford said. “Local land services recently filmed on one of our plantations and we’ll be screening a movie about it in the pavilion and encourage school groups to come along and see it on Thursday and Friday at the show.”

Hurford Hardwood’s director Andrew Hurford said a new Virtual Reality display will be coming to the show in the future, where school students will be able to wear a head set and learn about forestry and the lifecycle of forests from planting trees to making products from wood. 

Mr Bailey said school students and accompanying teachers and parents will get free entry to the show on the Thursday and Friday.

“It’s important that a child growing up in an urban environment can learn about these important rural activities that happen in our region,” Mr Bailey said. 

“The North Coast National is growing and we want to encourage everyone to come along and support it. 

“It takes a lot of work to put the show on. The cost of running the show ground has grown, as has the work of the president and board and committee.

“Because of the drought and the economy, 14 small regional shows will not happen this year and six may never happen again. 

“It’s a tragedy for rural NSW and show societies and something that needs to be addressed at government level. 

About the North Coast National:

The North Coast National Agricultural and Industrial Society Inc began as a community organisation 132 years ago. 

The Society was formed to bring early settlers together to share knowledge about farming and also to show the world their achievements. It has been a celebration of agriculture, ingenuity, creativity and resilience.

The show is one of the largest in NSW and Queensland outside the capital cities, and it is run by a small number of staff members and a large number of volunteers.

Members elect a management board each year and they meet regularly to oversee the maintenance of the grounds, plan for events, and ensure that the annual show is responsive to changing times and tastes.

For more information about the North Coast National Show, visit http://www.northcoastnational.com.au/